Description
Artist/Maker: Alex Chien (b. 1994)
Object/Materials and Techniques: Acrylics / Sprays / Oil pastels on Canvas
Date: Painted in 2020
Dimensions: H.85 cm. x W. 85 cm.
Art style: Illustration / Graffiti art / Cartoon art / Reflections of Surrealism / Pop Surrealism
Current Location: Artist’s collection
Curator’s note: Making a more or less disguised use of the ‘subversive’ and the ‘transcendental’ which vaguely specify Pop Surrealism’s philosophy, Alex Chien invites the viewers in a hypothetical state of an Untitled Collision. With strong auto-sarcastic attitude and an inspiring sense of eerie, he introduces a utopian version of an accident resulting from violent impact of a group of figures that are characterized by forceful movement.
Cartoon tainted forms and shapes animatedly arranged, being in a potential motion, reflect the intense action exerted by the presented collision, and the forces associated therewith. Thrusting upwards across the canvas, wrapping the one around the other, and picked out in rich vibrant colours, they provoke such an intense vibe to the observer that captivate the eye at once.
Capitalizing on a vibrant compound, the portrayed illustration carries a graffiti expressive power that defines Alex Chien’s personal signature artistic vernacular.
Apart from an overall charismatic sense of animation and a remarkable emphasis on many sided detailed complexes, all lines and figures convey such strength and power that communicate simultaneously thought and humour, plus, grouped together, reinforce the surprising cartooning act that takes place in front of the viewer.
In this sense, poking fun, the artist slips the audience into the perspective of an alternate reality, while synchronously drawing attention upon extinguishing illusions.
Even the title of the work enhances the superficial embedded in the artist’s making process. It certainly offers thought-provoking starting points, and creates reflective connotations for the viewer who inevitably inserts himself in an unexpected astonishing state that usually follows when a crash occurs.
Through exceptional technical ability and flawless execution, falling, on one hand, under the influence of Surrealism while, on the other, becoming intrigued by the aesthetics of cartoons and comics, Alex Chien succeeds in marking out the uniqueness and the dynamism of a fairly Pop Surrealist oeuvre.
